MANILA, Philippines — Rizal and Quezon City kept their respective positions as the most competitive province and city for the third consecutive year in the latest Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI).

During the 6th Regional Competitiveness Summit held yesterday, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) announced Rizal topped the list of the most competitive provinces this year, with the ranking based on the population and income weighted average of the overall scores of cities and municipalities under a province.

Laguna placed second while Davao del Norte was the third most competitive province.

Meanwhile, Quezon City remained the most competitive highly urbanized city, followed by Manila and Pasay.

In terms of most competitive component cities, Legazpi in Albay topped the list, while Naga in Camarines Sur placed second and Tagum in Davao del Norte got the third place.

Taytay in Rizal was the most competitive among first to second class municipalities, followed by Cainta in Rizal and Malay in Aklan.

For 3rd to 6th class municipalities, Pura in Tarlac got first place, while Lamut in Ifugao got second place and Pontevedra in Negros Occidental ranked third.

The CMCI ranks cities and municipalities based on an overall score using four pillars: government efficiency, economic dynamism, infrastructure and resilience.

The higher the score of a city or municipality, the more competitive the local government unit (LGU) is.

This year’s CMCI was based on a survey conducted from February to May of this year and covered 1,508 LGUs.

While there are achievements made by LGUs based on the CMCI, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said there is still work to be done in terms of improving ease of doing business in the country.